Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Are these 'buyers' actually TRYING to insult me? A £1850 raise on initial piffling offer!

55 replies

Mikocat · 23/02/2012 14:58

We have our lovely flat up on the market for £117k, this is a 'realistic' price according to the EA, priced because we want to sell quickly. For example it is lower than another flat in our block which is smaller and not as nice (and has admittedly been on the market for quite a while). We were really hoping for at least £115k.

We had our first viewing on Saturday, only a day after it went on sale and were chuffed to hear that they had made an offer, less chuffed to hear that the offer was for £110k. So we said no, early days etc.

The couple (who are buying the flat for their son to use while at uni - so not short of cash I guess) came to see the flat again yesterday and have rung the EA back with an offer of £111,850 - does that seem like a weird amount to anyone else??

However they are willing to up the offer by £150 to a whopping £112k if we throw in our superking-size bed, our huge leather sofa and the 60s designer table and chairs in the living room (which are worth at least a grand on their own!).

Can I just tell them to bugger off and not make insulting offers to an already-emotional heavily pregnant woman? (the reason for wanting a quick sale)

AIBU to be this upset?

OP posts:
oranges · 23/02/2012 15:00

they know you are pregnant and want a quick sale, and are bargaining. do you have another higher offer? if not, their offer seems okay to me.

noddyholder · 23/02/2012 15:03

I think 112 for a flat at 117 is reasonable. Not the furniture though. Prices are falling and the country is in a mess. Banks are about to change teh criteria for interest only mortgages so many people are being cautious maybe bargain hard on what you buy?

SecondTimeLucky · 23/02/2012 15:05

The offer is only 5% under asking price, which isn't that bad in this market. It's certainly not insulting.

But you need to look online at what similar flats are actually selling for, not their asking prices. Have a google, there are loads of sites.

Tell them to sod off on the furniture though. £150 for all that is just cheeky.

ginmakesitallok · 23/02/2012 15:07

Seems reasonable to me- without the furniture though. Just because they are buying for their dc you assume they have £ to throw around?

MmeBucket · 23/02/2012 15:07

That seems like quite a reasonable offer in this economy, and while I'm not near you, to have an offer like that in such a short time around here would border on the miraculous.

noddyholder · 23/02/2012 15:09

Property has no intrinsic value at all. It is worth what someone is prepared to pay in conjunction with what the surveyor says and what the bank will lend. You may find come the summer you wish you had taken it!

peggyblackett · 23/02/2012 15:11

Seems reasonable - not the furniture offer though.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

minipie · 23/02/2012 15:13

I'd say no. As you say, they clearly have a fair bit of money if they are buying their son a flat to use while at uni. I suspect an extra £5k is not going to be that much to them, if they want the flat, which they clearly do if they have been to see it twice and made an offer.

I'd tell them if they offer £115k you will accept and take it off the market, otherwise you will wait to see what other interest there is.

Yes it may well be the case that the market is bad. But you say you've already priced it pretty unambitiously, so I don't think that means you have to accept 5% under.

glastocat · 23/02/2012 15:16

Huh, sounds like a great offer too me! wishes there was a bitter and jealous emoticon

CMOTDibbler · 23/02/2012 15:18

Its not an unrealistic offer at all tbh, although the furniture thing was a but cheeky. Remember that they are going to have no emotional attachment to your flat, so will be more prepared to walk away, but should be able to give you a clean, quick sale. Well worth £3k imo

Original poster
Mikocat · 23/02/2012 15:21

Maybe I am being over-emotional (it wouldn't be unusual at the moment)! It's just disappointing when the flat is already priced very low for what it is.

I have to say though that yes, anyone who can afford to buy their child a flat is certainly rich in my book!

OP posts:
Hullygully · 23/02/2012 15:24

There's no low/high sadly. There's only what someone is prepared to pay.

BackforGood · 23/02/2012 15:34

Setting aside the daft arguement about if they are rich or not Hmm it's neither a 'piffling offer' nor insulting. I assumed you were going to say they'd offered you £80K or something. I would expect offers to be a few thousand below the asking price - it's where they start to negotiate from. Particularly so if they are aware you are looking for a quick sale. Presumably if they have finance all in place though and can move quickly, that gives them even more bargaining power. It's a market place. Tht's how the system works - you ask what you would like to receive, they offer what they would like to pay, and you see if you can find middle ground. Up to you to choose to either negotiate or say "No. We're not coming below...£x and leave it up to them to find more or walk away".

londonlottie · 23/02/2012 15:44

Crikey yes, this seems like a good offer, although the extra £150 for the furniture is irritating and I'd decline it.

And I really don't think that being able to buy your child a flat at that value constitutes being 'rich' by any means - you don't know, they may be remortgaging their home in order to put down the requisite deposit!

mollymole · 23/02/2012 15:55

Sounds like a good offer to me (apart from the furniture). Have you actually looked and seen what prices are actually being achieved for flats like yours. Has your Estate Agent told you, truthfully, what other prices have been achieved in your area on properties priced at similar amounts to yours.

thirdhill · 23/02/2012 15:59

Never go below your minimum [unless the figure wasn't precisely accurate].

They can take their money somewhere else and buy some other flat from someone less discerning and less attached to round numbers.

We're already struggling to find a few places for our DCs before the market absolutely rockets off, so yes, stick to your guns. There are plenty of buyers about who will appreciate your lovely flat more.

mousymouseafraidofdogs · 23/02/2012 16:02

sounds reasonable to me. here houses are marketed for 450k (for example) and sell for less than 400k. they are not far off!

glastocat · 23/02/2012 16:04

Err, if the UK follows Ireland property wise, the market isnt going to be rocketing off anywhere! My mum just sold a flat for 20k less than she paid for it 4 years ago (in NI), and she was delighted to get shot of it at that! So dont count oon the market only going up, its a world wide recession after all.

thirdhill · 23/02/2012 16:21

Well, it's trotting along where we are. Anything less than £2m with at least one window in every room is gone in days or possibly weeks. Everyone has a weakness rooms without fresh [or even grimy city] air are essential. Other than that I can see past almost anything...

The UK may be like Ireland but sadly not fast enough.

Jacaqueen · 23/02/2012 16:37

Take it!

They are chain free and may even be cash buyers which means that the sale should be relatively problem free. Not many people manage to get an offer within a few days. Just think no more viewings and having to keep the place tidy. If you refuse I think they will walk away. It's just a flat for their son while he is at uni, not a forever home. They will want to insure themselves against a drop in the market too no matter how rich they are.

It could sit on the market for months. How much is your mortgage and ins payments every month? Take this offer and that is money that can go towards your new mortgage.

jumpingjackhash · 23/02/2012 16:44

I don't think it's unreasonable as an offer against an asking price of 117k. If you wanted more, you should have listed it for a higher figure, then opening offers would (hopefully) be closer to what you'd accept. However, as other posters have said, something is only worth what a potential buyer is ready to pay.

In the same vein you're free to decline their increased offer including the furniture - it's worth more to you than them.

Hope you get an offer you're happy with soon, but it's not exactly a sellers' market at the mo.

Lightofthemoon · 23/02/2012 16:48

ha ha ha you can tell you've only just put your property on the market!

Give it a few months when you are fed up being pregnant and having to tidy for the millionth time for another waste of time viewing and you'll realise you should have bitten their hand off.

Forget the cheeky furniture nonsense, it's a very good offer especially as they are in no chain and presumably don't need a mortgage - do you realise how many sales and chains are collapsing at the moment because people can't get mortgages? Take it!

AnnoyingOrange · 23/02/2012 16:53

If you don't accept the offer they might offer on the other flat which has been on the market for a long time

thirdhill · 23/02/2012 16:55

yeah but lightofthemoon everyone has to find their own path... and attachment to round numbers and old walls is hard to shake off. Just like windows in rooms.

haggisaggis · 23/02/2012 16:59

Our old house has been on the market for over 2 years and has dropped over 50k in value in that time (we are lucky - dh was on relocation package from employer so not our problem any more). I only wish we had been offered 5k less than its asking price when it first went on teh market..
Is anything moving in your area? If it isn't then I would bite their hand off!

Swipe left for the next trending thread